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Author
Topic: Gay pride: the good the bad and the ugly (Read 12975 times)

Pride Day used to be all about achieving policital and personal freedom. Being gay these days is passe. Kurt cobain said it best: "What else can i say... everyone is gay."All I see in Pride Day these days is a chance to buy stuff, get laid, do drugs, party and look at pretty boys. While I see nothing wrong with having fun ... I just think that there is no point in calling it a protest and would rather call it a party.... one I'd rather bow out of these days.

Logged

Floating through the void in the caress of two giant pink lobsters named Esmerelda and Keith.

Sorry, when you said All I see in Pride Day these days is a chance to buy stuff, get laid, do drugs, party and look at pretty boys. it seemed to imply that these shenanigans were not always present.

I will agree that Pride events are mostly void of a political element these days, but I suppose that is the price of success. They're seemingly vestigial in nature now, though assuredly they shouldn't be as there's obviously still much work to be done.

Gay Pride Day and Gay Pride Parades have always been a mixed bag of emotions for me.I have felt pride enough to burst at the seams...........and I have felt horrified at what comes out onto the streets at times. I mean, where do those freaks come from? But of course I know. Over the years I have learned to realize their value and appreciate what they represent. Call 'em the Lost Boys & Gals of our social infrastructure..........those that wish to express themselves in such a manner that retaliates and rebels against the set standards. Standards that spell pain and repression which society would bestow them. They entertain us and educate us with their shock value. But even with that said, I don't make an effort to attend PRIDE parades anymore. Life is simple these days and I am comfortable with my animals and a those few, few friends.And this forum. This forum has become an important factor in my daily life. I'm still trying to determine if that is a wise thing. It's like a friend.......but it's "tah intranets" for christ sake.Mike

I have to agree with not getting the pride thing. I never felt proud or ashamed in any way. I just am. I'm not proud to be white or irish and german..I just am. Confident and happy yes..proud..no. So I get what some of you are saying and agree. I have gone to "pride" in a few cities in the past and felt more out of place than anything. But I say..hey..if your into it..go for it.

For many years, I have given a Gay Pride party celebrating and acknowledging the Stonewall Riots of 1969. I am the only person I know of who has done this, excluding group-sponsored Pride events. I use the opportunity at my home to remind those of us who have been in the struggle longer (I was 17 at the time of Stonewall), and to educate those younger Gays who need to realize why and how we as a legally and socially oppressed group have gotten as far as we have. Can't build for the future without understanding the foundation. Like many others on here, I live Gay Pride everyday.

I didn't attend the SF Pride parade/festival yesterday but did catch part of the channel 4 special on TV.

I must say, I was just a little disappointed because the name "Dykes on Bikes" was not politically correct on NBC. They were referred to as, "Women's Motorcycle Coalition." They have been leading the SF Pride parade for 30 years and there were 450 participants in this years parade.

The following group was "Mike's on Bikes", who were not called "Men's Motorcycle Coalition" on NBC. Have the best dayMichael(who is not a member of Mike's on Bikes)

But to me Pride at its best (and worst) is a big Carninale or Mardi Gras, a free-wheeling good time, a chance to get drunk (like I need one) get laid (ditto) and put all the bigoted straights in town on alert that, although free to rant in the privacy of their own home, we're not to be minimized, ever.

It's the visibility of Pride that so many now take for granted. Like Mark (Aztecan), I remember when attending a Gay Pride parade was a highly provocative act of sicial consequence. And in many smaller places it still is.

True...just the idea that you can have a couple hundred thousand gays flocking together with very little fuss is in it's own way a huge political statement. Thank God the local TV stations help out by not just showing the NAMBLA parade float and making an effort to show the rest of the mostly boring crowd.

Ulong (who can be proud --while rolling around with a woman in the grass like a damn heathen)

.... I remember Club OZ with a black limo and two guys wearing leather (who redefined the term "butt ugly"). That car was escorted off the parade route at the first cross street...

This puzzles me. You mean they were too ugly to be in the parade, or beacuse they dared expose their butt?

We have the gay nudist club march in our parade (sans clothes) and leathermen too (some not quite a Colt fantasy). More power to them, that's what Pride's about, being your own person. Its not so long ago (and in some places in North America it still is) that being gay was meant being marginalized. Who are we to tell somebody they're too ugly for the pride parade?

Ironically I feel as some others do, that Pride has become an excuse to get drugged up at some circuit party, which annoys me. That's not the point. To me, the point is all the folks from young mums with kids to grannies who come out to watch the parade here. I don't see that as being assimilated, but as being accepted.

PS, I think we've got one of the best parade routes, alongside the beaches of English Bay.

I went to the Gay Pride March in NYC Sunday (first time). Dykes on Bikes started it off here as well. I couldn't believe how many groups there were, from proud bisexuals, to the gay naturists. There were floats from the HIV/AIDS organizations in the city, Meals on Wheels, the bars/clubs. Churches and Synagogues where LGBT were free to worship marched.

When I first saw the Verizon float, I was thinking , wow, now there's an ad. Then I realized the riders were proud LGBT employees of a company that provides them a safe workplace.

There were groups that marched for Obama, and one for Hillary. Local politicans ( in NYC) marched. Senator Schumer marched.

It was a very long parade of people. I belileve I stood there for 5 1/2 hours! I enjoyed every minute of it. Of course the hot guys in Speedos didn't hurt the eyes~

The crowds on the sidelines were filled with people from all walks of life, cheering everyone on.

The underlying theme of this march was marriage equality. It was interspersed throughout the parade . The most striking being gay or lesbian couples walking hand in hand with signs such as ' together 52 years, married for 3'

But I got it. I understood it all. And I didn't leave until the last float went by.

The surprise of the trip for me was near the end when David Bromstad was on the back of a convertible Mustang!!! . Sure they advertised his show/HGTV, but he's an out/proud TV star, and that's what I got from it. He is soooo damned cute (which I mouthed to him) and he said 'thank you' . Yup, I melted -lol

And I didn't buy anything other than a water and a gatorade from street vendor. The only thing I saw being hawked were pride flags, bracelets and bandanas.

I dont do Pride. First of all I dont like crowds, dont like the feeling that we are on display. The main reason I dont do Pride is cause it seems to be an excuse to see how many drugs you can do, how drunk you can get, how many you can sleep with, how many parties you went to, etc. I feel that Pride has been distorted into an annual circuit party. This should be a time to show the world that we are a community of diverse people that affect positivie change in our local society. Anyways, done with my rant....

This should be a time to show the world that we are a community of diverse people ......quote raroy

Gee whiz....isnt that what it is? Ok I admit its been a few years since I marched.....but you must be referring to the parties cause I never saw anything like you describe at Gay Pride Parades...... my favorite group was always the PFLAG group....Moms and Dads with their gay or lesbian kids.....it always warmed my heart cause I could never picture my Dad doing that.

Oh please, go to Temps on the Jersey Shore or Neptunes in East Quogue and you'll quickly see a straight party scene that's 10x the amount of drugs in any gay club -- it's rather amazing actually.

So there are big parties surrounding the parade event... big deal. Fags party in clubs every weekend of the year anyway -- do you just stay home all the time? If you don't enjoy nightclubs, alcohol, drugs and petty drama queens then don't go to the clubs. A parade is just a parade (read: BORING AND LONG).

Even if the gay prides in western countries are void of political issues nowadays and have succumbed to commercialism and hedonism, to partying and drugs, there are also a lot of countries, especially in eastern Europe, where homophobia and hatred rule and where gay parades are either prohibited, intimated or busted. It's a situation most of us don't think about because of our self-complacency and our local achievements, but if we raise our views and think globally, that's where the real gay movement is now, one which deserves its name. It's alive and kicking, and that's where our solidarity and compassion should go. To me, pride is not just about celebrating ourselves, but also to help and memorize those who are still beaten and suppressed.

"Even if the gay prides in western countries are void of political issues nowadays and have succumbed to commercialism and hedonism, to partying and drugs, there are also a lot of countries, especially in eastern Europe.To me, pride is not just about celebrating ourselves, but also to help and memorize those who are still beaten and suppressed. "

. The main reason I dont do Pride is cause it seems to be an excuse to see how many drugs you can do, how drunk you can get, how many you can sleep with, how many parties you went to, etc. I feel that Pride has been distorted into an annual circuit party.

I guess you've never been to a hetero wedding, huh? See? we are equal after all.

Re-reading this thread reminded me of something that happened fifteen years ago, and now feel the need to share:

In April 1992 my French lover Jean-Marc died, and I left Paris returning to Boston (where I was raised) almost immediately. At that moment in my life i was in deep mourning, leaving my apartment only for work and trips to rent/return porn (we all have our coping strategies). I was so sensitive that practically anything would (and did) set me off. I hadn't even considered attending Pride that year as a party was the furthest thing from my mind.

My sister (who is a lesbian) coaxed me out, inviting me to march with her Proud & Sober group (she has been alcohol/drug free since 1990). I knew most of these people and felt that anything would be preferable to sitting home alone with a tub of Crisco, so I agreed. The good mood was completely infectious, and for several hours my burdens seemed distant and (momentarily) irrelevant.

A former ex took a picture of my sister and me along the route, stopping to pose. We are flashing the broadest, brightest smiles we had, and the pic looks naturally joyous, not forced. He eventually transfered the pix taken that day onto video, with music and running commentary between he and his then-boyfriend, as a kind of slideshow. It remains one of my prized possessions and need to have it transferred to DVD someday, as I'd love to share it with you all.

Buoyed by the positive, fun energy, I eventually parted with my sister and attended the annual closed-street block party and consumed enough beer to feel buzzy without feeling basted and flirted with many many equally sweaty, shirtless male specimens before selecting my pick and bringing him home. A brief fuck was followed by cuddling and an invite to a roof-top BBQ, which I accepted.

We proceeded directly thereafter to a fund-raising Pride Ball held in Boston's City Hall and attended by thousands. The spectacle of hundreds of near-naked, sweaty men bumping and grinding inside City Hal was a sight I'll never forget, especially in a separate, lower-level room that I called the snakepit and where the action approached NC-17 if never XXX. My companion offered to score some drugs, but I abstained and we eventually drifted apart as the evening wore on.

I wasn't alone long before a couple in their forties approached me and off we went on yet another adventure.

I took my "walk of shame" (which was not shameful at all) home in full morning sun, bedraggled but lifted, if only for a day, from my depression and isolation. I can't say that I didn't soon revert to my grief and isolation, but I can say that Pride 1992 helped me regain my sea-legs and was soon going out more regularly, so yeah...it changed my life, or at least acted as the catalyst for positive change in my life.

Every year there is someone else, just as I was, withdrawn and broken spirited who finds renewal of hope in Pride festivities. The carnival atmosphere of topless dykes, over-the-top drag queens (whether in sequins or leather) and all those otherwise circumspect men cutting loose can be liberating, drugs not necessarily required (nor orgiastic sex, though it did me a world of good).

My ex used to say "If you don't believe in abortion, don't have one". The same applies to Pride. Skip it if it holds no promise of adventure, or if a public affirmation of one's sexual orientation makes you flinch. It's entirely your loss.

Brent(Who has changed very little over the years)

Logged

Blessed with brains, talent and gorgeous tits.

The revolutionary smart set reads The Spin Cycle at least once every day.